It was a night full of suspense and thrill. Never would have I expected it to be this tight. Yup, the big one, Finals for the Individual 10m Platform Diving... 12 of the world's best divers all lining up for that one prize, the Gold Medal. Amongst the many older divers, stood one with a tiny frame (okay there were a few other small ones as well), the youngest of the final 12, Chen Ruolin of China. At only 15 years of age, she could've been easily eclipsed by the rest in the field, but no, she joined the Olympics as the World No.1. I couldn't imagine the amount of pressure placed upon this little girl... she was to dive in front of the home crowd, thousands of people cheering every time she stood on the platform... no Chinese woman has ever won this Gold for 12 years... they definitely wanted her to win... and she was up against the best of the field. She looked so calm, her face full of focus.
She has mentioned before that she treats competition the same way she does training, so that there is no pressure. "I didn't put too much pressure on myself before the competition. I just treated this final as if it was a training session," she said. She also mentioned that the fact that nobody from her nation ever won Gold in 12 years also made her nervous. Whatever it is, she didn't show even a slight sign of defeat, even after Canadian Emilie Heymans overtook her in the fourth round with a really good dive. For the 1st time during the competition, Chen wasn't leading, the crowd started to get nervous. Chen's dive for that round couldn't shake Heymans off the 1st rank. Things were made worse when Heymans did a near-flawless dive of 88 points as her final sign-off. The crowd quietened, Chen's teammate Wang Xin (who also shares the same birthday as me) has already scored 2nd rank, just behind Heymans, ensuring a confirmed medal.
Now the question was... which color will Chen get? She needs more than an astronomical 90 points to win the Gold. Looking unfazed, she walks calmly to the edge of the platform...
The crowd stands up, chanting "Chen Ruolin! Chen Ruolin!" and they quieten down just in time before she maneuvers a slick back 2 1/2 somersault with 1 1/2 twists, her toughest dive.
It was awesome, simply flawless perfection, no splosh or splash... it's as if she flew into straight the water like a dart. That only happens when you make a perfect vertical entry. Chen got out of the pool, bowed and cried after she had nailed her last and toughest dive. She was happy with the dive.
Even before it was shown on TV, you could tell that she has nailed it by the cheers of the Chinese crowd and the fact that her coach was squeezing her lil body tightly. Chen was in tears, tears of joy. What she needed was a perfect dive, and that's exactly what she did, earning a total score of 100.30 consisting of 4 perfect 10s (she got 7 perfect 10s altogether in the Final). Coaches and competitors alike hugged and squeezed her, taking photos and exchanging compliments. The crowd went on a never-ending roar of cheers and applause. She was the heroine of the hour, she upheld their dream. For the 1st time in 12 years, the Medal goes to China. I could only watch in absolute shock and relief as Chen continued to cry.
Unknown to her, the chap writing this blog entry did too. I'm not sure why, but I was cheering in front of the TV, and drops of water lowed down my cheeks. She did it. She actually nailed the Gold! All that in the last minute... Earning her 2nd Gold medal means completing her dream, which is to bring back 2 Golds. Sounds like a simple dream, until you learn that she only took part in 2 events! She entered and she won... first in the Synchronised 10m Platform with Wang Xin and now in the Individual 10m Platform... and that, ladies and gentleman, is why she is the World No.1~ Never before have I witnessed such a tight and dramatic finale live. This Final may become a legend in future years, as many would remember how one lil girl, youngest in the competition, with one dive, turned the whole table around. Watching photos of her on the podium with her gold medal was really something (yeah, the silly TV coverage actually CUT off the medal ceremony). She stood there with her Bronze medalist companion Wang, with Silver medalist Heymans towering above both of them.
I couldn't be more proud of her, especially after following her progress of 2 years, back from her debut at the Asian Games in Doha. She has made massive waves worldwide, and I believe she will only get better because of her sheer determination and endless strive to do better. But I do hope she eats more, I heard that her coaches caught her skipping meals because she's worried that puberty will make her put on weight. She also had to keep off her favourite snacks because of the Olympics. She also said that the first thing she would like to do after securing champion, is to have a good sleep and eat whatever good to eat. And that's what you should do dear, eat well and be healthy.
Keep it up gurl!
And that's all for this entry, dedicated especially to her,
PEACE and God Bless,
Aris Tee
